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Thursday, February 16, 2017

Uber offering free English courses to migrant worker drivers

Uber has said it will offer free courses for its drivers in
response to a ruling by Transport for London (TfL), which has delayed its new
English tests until September.

The Uber app will give drivers the option to cash their
income at any time, as opposed to at the end of the week, as well as offer
“earnings advice sessions” on improving revenue. The advice will be targeted at
drivers earning less than the hourly average.

Uber driverless vehicles are already here

The multi-billion dollar company - which does not operate
taxis or employ drivers - will also offer drivers free “skills” courses, so
they can learn a language or improve their financial planning. Uber has brought
in outside expertise from online investment firm Moneyfarm in a deal which will
make available discounted products like ISAs to pensions to its drivers.

The charm offensive follows an intense period of damaging public scrutiny of the company
and the treatment of drivers. Last October, Uber lost an important ruling at an employment
tribunal in London that its drivers should be employed as workers, as opposed
to self-employed contractors, and be entitled to workers’ rights including
holiday or sick pay. Uber will appeal the decision, which threatens the company’s
business model.

The government is not only concerned about workers rights,
but also the loss of tax and employer National Insurance contributions from
self employed workers (Uber, Hermes and Deliveroo) who legally pay less tax, which is estimated to cost the treasury
£2 billion a year.

Whilst companies like Uber provide UK job opportunities for
migrant workers, however, when you take into account the number of hours worked
and the cost of running a vehicle, dealing with accounts and tax, many people
are probably earning less than the minimum wage.

More worrying for Uber and other delivery drivers is the
rise of robot technology, which will see driverless vehicles and drone
deliveries not in a distant science fiction-based future, but within the next
few years. The U.S. tech giant is already rolling out plans to allow
users to hail self-driving cars, and put Volvo driverless cars on the road last year in a Pittsburgh based
trial.

New technology will wipe out millions of jobs in the next
few years. Not just driving jobs, but white collar and professional jobs too.
How we adapt to this new era will be crucial to all our futures.

In a recent survey, it was revealed that millions of people
in the UK have less than £100 in savings and are totally unprepared for
retirement. Millions will have to work until they drop, especially the
self-employed and ‘zero hour’ contract workers who have little or no pension
provision.

Home-based business revolution

Some are turning to second jobs in the form of home-based
businesses, e.g. making money online with using platforms to sell goods with Ebay or Amazon, while others are dipping their toes in the buy-to-let property
market. Both are viable options provided you know what you are doing and have
the right training.

I have attended a number of free courses and webinars with a
company called Progressive Property Group. Their founders, Rob Moore and Mark
Homer own over 700 properties. They are academics, but entrepreneurs who have ‘been
there and done it’, which is why I listen to their advice.

A common myth is that you have to have loads of money to
become a property investor, not true. I know many migrants who have come to the
UK with pennies in their pockets who are financially free through property.

UK immigration matters and articles on migration, studying or working in the UK, as well as other countries. UK immigration visa appeals, refusal of visas or leave to remain, deportation and removal from the UK and overstaying in the UK. Articles on setting up a business online and making money online.